Officer gives 'just the facts, ma'am' — with a flair

Police captain taps lyrical groove to get news to the public

By Paul Grondahl

Published 10:51 pm, Thursday, November 28, 2013

Captain John Cooney of the Troy Police speaks to the Times Union on various subjects at his office Tuesday afternoon Nov. 26, 2013, in Troy, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Captain John Cooney of the Troy Police speaks to the Times Union on...

Captain John Cooney of the Troy Police speaks to the Times Union on various subjects at his office Tuesday afternoon Nov. 26, 2013, in Troy, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Captain John Cooney of the Troy Police speaks to the Times Union on...

Captain John Cooney of the Troy Police speaks to the Times Union on various subjects at his office Tuesday afternoon Nov. 26, 2013, in Troy, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union)

Captain John Cooney of the Troy Police speaks to the Times Union on...

Official John Cooney, left, oversees the State Amateur golf tournament on Thursday, July 25, 2013, at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudenville, N.Y. Capt. Cooney is the public information officer for the Troy Police Department and an avid golfer. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Official John Cooney, left, oversees the State Amateur golf...

Official John Cooney, second from left, oversees the State Amateur golf tournament on Thursday, July 25, 2013, at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudenville, N.Y. Capt. Cooney is the public information officer for the Troy Police Department and an avid golfer. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Official John Cooney, second from left, oversees the State Amateur...

Official John Cooney, left, watches Victor Fox of Bethlehem line up his putt during the State Amateur golf tournament on Thursday, July 25, 2013, at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudenville, N.Y. Capt. Cooney is the public information officer for the Troy Police Department and an avid golfer. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Official John Cooney, left, watches Victor Fox of Bethlehem line up...

Official John Cooney, center, watches Matt Stasiak of Rochester putt for a birdie on the final hole of the State Amateur golf tournament on Thursday, July 25, 2013, at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudenville, N.Y. Capt. Cooney is the public information officer for the Troy Police Department and an avid golfer. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Official John Cooney, center, watches Matt Stasiak of Rochester...

Official John Cooney, center, measures the distance between two balls to see whether Victor Fox of Bethlehem or Matt Stasiak of Rochester should putt first on the final hole of the State Amateur golf tournament on Thursday, July 25, 2013, at Schuyler Meadows Club in Loudenville, N.Y. Capt. Cooney is the public information officer for the Troy Police Department and an avid golfer. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

He is a PIO, or press information officer, with a literary flair. Instead of a bland recitation of the facts of a crime, his press releases sparkle with a lyrical quality and a penchant for adjectives that cause even the most jaded reporters to crack a smile and take notice.

In Cooney's telling, there are no boilerplate perps or faceless, anonymous cops. He does not believe in ironing the starch out of crime's drama.

A recent drug bust followed "an organized effort to locate and detain the fleet-footed suspects," he wrote.

A 17-year-old led police on a chase and "eluded" the officers with his mother's minivan and she "actually disclosed to us that he took the car without her permission," according to Cooney.

In another case, "Troy Detectives dealt a crushing blow to a local burglary ring and recovered thousands of items of sports memorabilia in the process ... Caught red-handed, the suspect was placed into custody."

In a media-saturated market where a river of generic press releases washes over computer screens and causes assignment editors' eyes to glaze over, Cooney's distinctive dispatches coined a new verb: you've been "Cooneyed."

But some in the department consider his writing to be showboating and it does not always endear him to Troy's finest.

"A lot of guys say I get too wordy. They don't like me going beyond the norm of name, date and place," Cooney said. "I try to capture the experience more than just the facts. I want to share stories. I'm lucky I've been blessed with some literary skills."

Cooney, 55, a 30-year veteran of the department, has willed himself into becoming a writer. It did not come easily or naturally for him. He does not have a college degree. The Troy native graduated from La Salle Institute in 1976 and studied marine science briefly at Southampton College and marketing at Hudson Valley Community College. "I look at it as a failure of sorts," he said. "But I feel good that I've overcome it and have succeeded without a degree."

Cooney became a cop at 25. He started as an evidence technician and was elected union president two different times, the first when he was in his early 30s. Union activism did not stunt his career climb. After eight years as a patrolman, he was promoted to sergeant and joined the detective division. He spent seven years specializing in child abuse and sex crimes. One of his proudest achievements is the creation of a victims' services program.

"My focus was always what could I do to help the victim," he said. "I was criticized for taking the job too personally."

Cooney wears his heart on his sleeve. He chokes up when telling a story in his third-floor office, crowded with golf memorabilia and a vanity license plate: GOLFRULZ. He drives a 1987 Alfa Romeo Spider convertible that is garaged over the winter. "My baby," he called it. He and his wife, Christine, a teaching assistant at Troy Middle School, live in Wynantskill and have two daughters: Meghan, 22, a graduate of SUNY Oneonta, and Lauren, 20, a student at Russell Sage College.

Cooney is a kinder, gentler PIO. He was asked to develop a PIO curriculum and when he teaches young recruits at the Zone 5 police academy in Schenectady, Cooney goes against the grain. "I stress that we need to revise our negative perception of the media," he said.

He tries to lead by example, underscoring his belief that treating the media with respect and professionalism tends to be reciprocal. "I don't see anything wrong with being media-friendly," Cooney said. Indeed, he has allowed TV reporters to meet him outside Crossgates Mall during a break on a shopping trip with his wife for on-camera interviews if a crime occurs on the weekend.

His superiors believed he can get too cozy with the media. He was relieved of his duties briefly after he mistakenly hit reply all and sent out an email intended for a single reporter that was criticized as being preferential. Cooney was re-instated after a short hiatus as PIO, a voluntary post with no additional compensation.

Training new officers is Cooney's forte and passion. Golf is an affliction. He caught the bug as a teenager working summers at Frear Park Golf Course. He is a longtime member at Burden Lake Country Club who has carded three hole-in-ones. He used to play to a 3-handicap, but a hand injury caused it to climb above 11 this year. He's not a long hitter, but saves par with a solid short game and a trusty Titleist Vokey 60-degree lob wedge. "It's my secret weapon," he said.

His competitive nature comes out on the golf course, sometimes to extremes. A friend explained Cooney's moodiness during a poor round killed the joy of the game. "You're no fun to be around on the course," his friend said. Cooney took it to heart and started mellowing out about his play.